Perched on a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Fort Ross, Hirsch Vineyards is the birth ground of great pinot noir on the extreme Sonoma Coast. David Hirsch founded the vineyard in 1980 to grow fruit and make site-specific wine. From the start all efforts have been on the growing of fruit that makes wines profoundly characteristic of the site vintage after vintage.

Our first Chardonnay vineyard was planted in 1994. That year, David Hirsch prepared 2.5 acres for planting on a rocky, 40% slope above his house. He was enamored with Barolo and intended to plant Nebbiolo. Burt Williams, who was buying our Pinot Noir grapes for his winery Williams Selyem, told David he was nuts and should plant Chardonnay instead. Thus the old Chardonnay vineyard was born. The cuttings came from Joe Rochioli; Williams Selyem made the wine from 1997 to 2000; Kistler took the fruit through 2005. In 2002 David planted an additional 1.4 acres of Chardonnay on a sandstone hill in field 12, just over the hill from the old vineyard. Together these two tiny vineyards comprise our estate Chardonnay, first produced in 2006.

With less than 4 acres of Chardonnay vines, production is very limited, and 100% of the fruit is kept for the estate.